Elemental

Elemental is a type of minion, depicting elemental spirits who have attained raw physical form.

Elemental synergy effects typically require an Elemental minion to have been played on the previous turn. Elementals are available to all classes, but many Elemental synergy cards are reserved for shamans and mages.

Elementals are manifestations of volatile energy - elemental spirits that have attained raw physical form with the spirit remaining as the core.

The exact origin of these innately chaotic entities is unknown, though some have been accidentally created when bits of magic seeped into coals, over the course of a few decades manifesting in a small elemental being of immense fortitude. Other elementals have been created by mogu sorcerers who prefer more solid companions over beastly familiars. Other elementals (albeit fel-corrupted ones) have been born solely from demonic magic. Elemental cores seem to retain some semi-sentient properties after being defeated.

Elementals are an incredibly varied group; Some are bound to distant realms known as the Elemental Planes and are usually servants of the powerful Elemental Lords that rule over each plane. Others are native to the world of Azeroth, bound to the state of their surroundings as representations of the elemental spirits. Still others appear independent from any greater master, acting as individual beings. The elemental forces are ageless and unchanging.

Background

Elementals are chaotic by nature and once raged freely on primordial Azeroth until the Old Gods arrived and enslaved them. As servants of the Old Gods, the elementals were later defeated by titanic forces and banished to a specially crafted prison known as the Elemental Plane. Although most elementals remain in the Elemental Plane, they can be summoned to Azeroth by those who seek to use their power.

Over the millennia, some intelligent creatures of Azeroth have found ways to summon elementals and bind them to their service. Humanmages are fond of summoning or creating Water Elementals for their brute force and imposing size. Ragnaros was summoned into the material plane by the Dark Iron dwarves three centuries ago, residing in the Molten Core until he was killed and banished to his home realm. Some shamans have demonstrated the ability to summon and control elementals. The Twilight's Hammer has used magical cages to create and control bound elementals.

Of the four lords, only two remained under the control of the Old Gods: Ragnaros of fire and Al'Akir of air. Following the Cataclysm, these two sent their armies to attack Azeroth. Ragnaros laid siege to Mount Hyjal, seeking to destroy Nordrassil, but his armies were driven back by the Guardians of Hyjal, and he himself was killed. Al'akir attacked Uldum, joining with the Neferset tribe to destroy the other Tol'vir, and was also killed. While Therazane of earth and Neptulon of water were no longer in service of the Old Gods, their realms became battlefields following the Cataclysm, as servants of Deathwing invaded Deepholm and the naga invaded the Abyssal Maw. While the Earthen Ring was successful in fighting off the former, Ozumat captured Neptulon, who is now presumably under naga control.

Nothing is more primal than the elements themselves, and Un’Goro’s ancient energies empower the resident elementals with a vigor and ferocity not seen anywhere else. Some of Hearthstone's familiar faces will gain the Elemental minion type, joining the ranks of Murlocs, Dragons, Pirates, and Beasts for exciting new synergies.[1]

Elementals were introduced as a new minion type with Journey to Un'Goro. While Hearthstone already featured many elementals - including most of the Elemental Lords themselves - the arrival of this powerful new breed led to the recognition of the elementals as a minion type in themselves, allowing even older cards to benefit from the new synergies.

Elemental synergies are activated if an elemental minion was played on the previous turn. Even though many Elementals are low mana (compared to Dragons, another midrange/control minion type), this discourages swarming strategies since it's better to have Elementals in your hand for future turns. The only Elemental who encourages a swarm is Ozruk, which is a very expensive play used to seal games. Elementals are based on Curve plays, as well as strategically planning your mana on later turns when a direct curve isn't optimal. Due to the powerful battlecries of Elemental minions, you can easily out-value most opponents as long as you keep a chain of Elementals rolling.

Can't attack. At the end of your turn, deal 8 damage to a random enemy. Ragnaros was summoned by the Dark Iron dwarves, who were eventually enslaved by the Firelord. Summoning Ragnaros often doesn’t work out the way you want it to.

Battlecry: Summon a 3/6 Water Elemental. Your Elementals have Lifesteal for the rest of the game. "Arthas was a spoiled child, playing with toys he could neither control nor understand. Come into the cold. I will show you the true power of the Frozen Throne."

Battlecry: Summon a 3/6 Water Elemental. Your Elementals have Lifesteal for the rest of the game. "Arthas was a spoiled child, playing with toys he could neither control nor understand. Come into the cold. I will show you the true power of the Frozen Throne."

We want each minion type to have its own unique feel and gameplay. When working on the Blackrock Mountain adventure, we decided some cards should get a bonus while you’re holding a Dragon in your hand. This let Dragon decks focus on having large minions, and their mechanic mitigates the downside of holding onto an expensive Dragon while you wait to have enough mana. We knew we had to come up with something unique for Elemental decks that made them feel very different.

During the initial design phase of a set, we explore a lot of ideas—even ones we know won’t work in the end—because iterating on those ideas helps us learn what kinds of things are fun. Maybe we try one mechanic that turns out to be bad, but along the way we discover a certain element of it is entertaining. We can then make a new mechanic that gets right to the heart of the fun.

In Journey to Un'Goro, we knew we wanted to add Elementals, and we tried about 10 different mechanical designs. By playing with each design and discussing them, we narrowed in on the best ones. Eventually, we chose our favorite and adjusted all the Elementals to match the one we liked best.

What other designs for Elementals did we try out?

1. Elementals get a bonus if you cast a spell this turn.

2. Elementals get a bonus if the last card you played was an Elemental.

3. Elementals get a bonus if the last minion you played was an Elemental.

4. Elementals get a bonus if you control another Elemental.

5. Elemental was a minion type and a spell type.

6. Gain Elemental Charges and spend them to power up Elementals.

Each of these designs hit us with different problems or challenges, causing us to eventually arrive at the mechanic we shipped with.

Elementals are fun because you can plan future turns in advance and get rewarded for it. You end up playing your turn differently because you’re thinking about what you want to do on your next turn …and even the turn after.[2]

Tools

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